This aligns with statements he made around the ANC’s local government elections manifesto launch on 23 August 2026 at Riverside Park near Diepsloot, Johannesburg, ahead of the 4 November 2026 municipal elections. Related remarks also appeared during the party’s earlier announcement of shortlisted mayoral candidates in Sandton.
Core Message and Context
Ramaphosa acknowledged widespread municipal shortcomings under ANC governance, including unreliable services, deteriorating infrastructure, financial distress, poor leadership, political instability, corruption, and the appointment of under-skilled people. He stated the party would not “shy away” from these realities or dismiss residents’ frustration and anger. Key themes included:
- Leaders and councillors must not become disconnected after elections. Instead, they should prioritise ongoing community engagement, meetings, report-backs, updates, and seeking mandates so they “move in tandem with our people.”
- Residents have complained about leaders “unable or unwilling to respond to their needs.”
- Public representatives will sign performance agreements and a code of ethical conduct, face regular assessments, participate in leadership development, and report consistently to communities.
- Those who fail to fulfil responsibilities will be removed; the ANC’s step-aside rule will apply in cases of corruption or serious offences. Underperforming mayors and councillors will not be protected.
- A 100-day accountability window after taking office requires publishing priorities, establishing service-delivery baselines, and showing measurable progress on urgent problems. Every ANC-led council is expected to develop a localised manifesto and implementation plan tailored to local strengths and challenges.
These points build on earlier warnings (including in 2025) that continued poor performance risks further electoral erosion for the ANC, with calls for councillors to prioritise delivery or face political consequences.
Six-Point Manifesto Priorities
Ramaphosa outlined six focus areas for the next five years:
- Reliable and affordable basic services — Water, sanitation, electricity, roads, refuse removal, and maintained infrastructure. Emphasis on fixing leaks, sewage spills, ageing networks, reducing contractor reliance by building internal municipal capacity, upgrading informal settlements, fair tariffs, accurate billing, free basic services for qualifying households, and expanded connectivity/Wi-Fi.
- More jobs and investment where people live — Creating conditions for local economic growth in cities, towns, townships, and rural areas through faster planning approvals, support for small businesses (including spaza shops), and investment in priority sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, tourism, and green/digital industries.
- Safer, cleaner, and healthier communities — Addressing gender-based violence (classified as a national disaster), improving street lighting and public spaces, tackling illegal dumping and hijacked buildings, and working with police, community forums, and others on safety.
- Municipal finances that deliver — Reviewing the funding model and White Paper on Local Government, improving revenue collection and billing, controlling expenditure, ending waste and corruption, eliminating unfunded budgets, and acting on Auditor-General findings within 12 months (with public accounting by mayors and recovery of lost funds).
- Well-run and ethical municipalities — Capable, stable, ethical leadership; performance agreements; protecting the boundary between politics and administration; modernising services digitally while keeping in-person options; and stronger oversight of procurement and conflicts of interest.
- Municipalities that listen and account to residents — Greater community voice in decisions, improved reporting and tracking of service delivery, and sustained presence rather than election-time visibility only.
He also reiterated commitments to 50/50 gender representation, inclusion of people with disabilities, older persons, and youth, and rebuilding technical capacity inside municipalities rather than heavy outsourcing.
Broader Political Setting
The ANC has delayed naming final mayoral candidates for the eight metros, instead releasing shortlists of 42 possible contenders and indicating final choices closer to the election (partly to maintain campaign unity and avoid defections or internal disruption). This occurs against a backdrop of service-delivery challenges in many ANC-run areas, repeated Auditor-General criticisms, and competition from parties such as the DA (which has fielded high-profile candidates in key metros), ActionSA, and the EFF.
Ramaphosa framed the manifesto as a response to public feedback gathered in community engagements and as an admission of both achievements (e.g., progress on load-shedding) and failures, while asking voters for another mandate. Scepticism has been noted in some commentary and social-media responses, given the longevity of similar accountability pledges and the persistence of municipal problems.
In short, the challenge to candidates centres on sustained presence, measurable delivery, community accountability, and consequences for non-performance—positioned as essential to restoring trust ahead of the November polls. The practical test will be whether the promised performance systems, 100-day plans, and removal mechanisms are implemented rigorously once councils are constituted.
